On 12 February, Malaysia violated the international prohibition against refoulement by forcibly returning blogger Hamza Kashgari to Saudi Arabia, where he faced the possibility of a death sentence on criminal charges of apostasy for his tweets about the Prophet Mohamed.

Nigerian student Onochie Martins Nwankwo was beaten to death on 30 March by members of Ikatan Relawan Rakyat (RELA), a civilian para-police force mandated to enforce immigration controls. On 20 April, Parliament passed the Malaysia Volunteers Corps Bill 2012, which stripped RELA members of the power to make arrests and carry firearms.

Death penalty

At least 860 prisoners were on death row at the end of February, according to the Prisons Department. The authorities did not disclose the number of executions carried out in 2012.

In October, Law Minister Nazri Aziz announced that the government would consider replacing the mandatory death penalty with prison sentences, but only for drug offences and under certain circumstances.

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Malaysia: Detained Student Activist at Risk of Torture (UA 241/14)

Student activist Ali Abdul Jalil was beaten up by prison officers in Malaysia and is facing charges under the country’s draconian Sedition Act. He is a prisoner of conscience, at risk of further torture or other ill-treatment.